A person’s choices on the road of life can thwart every good opportunity that comes their way and leads them to the grave or down roads they never intended to be on.”
–Kenneth Pratt (Everson Solstice)
“Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses.”
–Psalm 25:12 (NKJV)
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“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me…”
–2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)
This sad commentary I mentioned last week when we looked at the stony ground, but I wanted to bring it up again. Notice the reason that Demas left Paul, he was “in love with this present world.” Is this not the problem today? Busyness, shallow thinking, deceit, material gain are all out there and seek our attention. It is up to us, our choice, whether we continue on the way with Christ or choose, as Demas did to fall back into the world.
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” –Matthew 13:22(NKJV)
“Now the one that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” –Luke 8:14 (NKJV)
This person has accepted the Word, and it has taken root and has started to grow, but then…. Then something happens. They get busy. Oh, it might be legitimate, at least for a while, in fact, they may be busy with the Lord’s work. Work, work, work, have to make a dollar–but at what expense! Barclay writes, “We must ever remember that the things which crowd out the highest need not necessarily be bad. The worst enemy of the best is the second best.” This person wants it all, God, material success, a wonderful social life; “he wants the fruitfulness that comes with the gospel, but with he also wants everything else.” (Stedman) He will run his credit card(s) to the max trying for the finer things of life. He does not necessarily want to work for it, but wants it now. But if he has to work for it that work may get in the way of the gospel. Miss one Sunday a month, then another, then after they make their money they want to take a Sunday off to enjoy their hard labor. The Sunday School class they were part of has been put aside. The fellowship that is needed is replaced by those in the world. What a dreadful sight.
Notice, this person does not hear the word “with joy”. He simple allows the message to grow, but “life has too many other commitments that slowly choke the struggling plant, which never matures and bear fruit.” (D.A. Carson) We see that there are two types of thorns presented in this passage: the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. It could be rendered “the cares of the age,” indicating that the person has not thought nor does he have his eye on the age to come. Carson continues to say, “The idea is clear: worries about worldly things or devotion to wealth snuff out spiritual life.” Note also, the idea of “deceit.” That implies that the thorns are “so subtle that one may not be aware of the choking that is going on.” (Carson) Eventually we see that there is no fruitfulness; “all the seeming good effect [of the word] is gone, leaving the soul a very thicket of thorns.” (Broadus)
The stony ground the seed was snatched away, adversity could not be handled, but now the plant grows, it looks good, but then distractions come and it does not mature. There is no fruit and the fruitless branches will be cut off and thrown into the fire. In other words, they are fruitless, no good, dead, only good for the fire. Walter Liefeld suggests, “that this matter of being fruitful is not simply a matter of the quality of one’s Christian life but of whether one has life at all…”
Friend, contrary to some, there can be a falling away. Jude warns us that, “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees WITHOUT FRUIT, twice dead, pulled up by the roots.” (12, NKJV, emphasis mine) John says that “they went out from us, but they were not of us…” (1 John 2:19, NKJV) There will be a falling away–“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, NKJV) Forsaking the truth, there will be those who fall into deceit.
Make sure you count the cost. Take inventory of your Christian walk which should be done on a regular basis. Concentrate on the kingdom–“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV) Do not be deceived, do not let the world choke out what God has for you. Don’t let the pleasures of this world beguile you. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26, NKJV) In short — don’t become like Demas. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord.
————————————
“For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me…”
–2 Timothy 4:10 (ESV)
This sad commentary I mentioned last week when we looked at the stony ground, but I wanted to bring it up again. Notice the reason that Demas left Paul, he was “in love with this present world.” Is this not the problem today? Busyness, shallow thinking, deceit, material gain are all out there and seek our attention. It is up to us, our choice, whether we continue on the way with Christ or choose, as Demas did to fall back into the world.
“Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” –Matthew 13:22(NKJV)
“Now the one that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.” –Luke 8:14 (NKJV)
This person has accepted the Word, and it has taken root and has started to grow, but then…. Then something happens. They get busy. Oh, it might be legitimate, at least for a while, in fact, they may be busy with the Lord’s work. Work, work, work, have to make a dollar–but at what expense! Barclay writes, “We must ever remember that the things which crowd out the highest need not necessarily be bad. The worst enemy of the best is the second best.” This person wants it all, God, material success, a wonderful social life; “he wants the fruitfulness that comes with the gospel, but with he also wants everything else.” (Stedman) He will run his credit card(s) to the max trying for the finer things of life. He does not necessarily want to work for it, but wants it now. But if he has to work for it that work may get in the way of the gospel. Miss one Sunday a month, then another, then after they make their money they want to take a Sunday off to enjoy their hard labor. The Sunday School class they were part of has been put aside. The fellowship that is needed is replaced by those in the world. What a dreadful sight.
Notice, this person does not hear the word “with joy”. He simple allows the message to grow, but “life has too many other commitments that slowly choke the struggling plant, which never matures and bear fruit.” (D.A. Carson) We see that there are two types of thorns presented in this passage: the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. It could be rendered “the cares of the age,” indicating that the person has not thought nor does he have his eye on the age to come. Carson continues to say, “The idea is clear: worries about worldly things or devotion to wealth snuff out spiritual life.” Note also, the idea of “deceit.” That implies that the thorns are “so subtle that one may not be aware of the choking that is going on.” (Carson) Eventually we see that there is no fruitfulness; “all the seeming good effect [of the word] is gone, leaving the soul a very thicket of thorns.” (Broadus)
The stony ground the seed was snatched away, adversity could not be handled, but now the plant grows, it looks good, but then distractions come and it does not mature. There is no fruit and the fruitless branches will be cut off and thrown into the fire. In other words, they are fruitless, no good, dead, only good for the fire. Walter Liefeld suggests, “that this matter of being fruitful is not simply a matter of the quality of one’s Christian life but of whether one has life at all…”
Friend, contrary to some, there can be a falling away. Jude warns us that, “These are spots in your love feasts, while they feast with you without fear, serving only themselves. They are clouds without water, carried about by the winds; late autumn trees WITHOUT FRUIT, twice dead, pulled up by the roots.” (12, NKJV, emphasis mine) John says that “they went out from us, but they were not of us…” (1 John 2:19, NKJV) There will be a falling away–“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first…” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, NKJV) Forsaking the truth, there will be those who fall into deceit.
Make sure you count the cost. Take inventory of your Christian walk which should be done on a regular basis. Concentrate on the kingdom–“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, NKJV) Do not be deceived, do not let the world choke out what God has for you. Don’t let the pleasures of this world beguile you. “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Matthew 16:26, NKJV) In short — don’t become like Demas. Keep your eyes focused on the Lord.